Phosphorus is getting a bad rap these days — and with good reason. According to recent estimates, humans are pumping 10 million tonnes of this nutrient into the world’s lakes and rivers each year[1] with results that can be devastating. In 2014, for example, a massive bloom of blue-green algae, fueled by phosphorus, turned large [...]
Every year, diseases caused by contaminated drinking water kills hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Detecting contamination early — before dangerous microorganisms have a chance to multiply — would save countless lives. Right now, however, testing water samples means sending them to a lab. In remote communities, or even in big cities like [...]
Chlorination has been used in water treatment for more than 100 years. But there are growing concerns about its effectiveness in removing certain pathogens and its long-term effects on both humans and the environment. UV disinfection is very quickly gaining ground on chlorination because it’s effective, environmentally friendly and economical. But, in many ways the [...]
Across the continent, water mains laid down during the post-WWII housing boom are reaching the end of their life. Out of sight, small cracks and leaks are going undetected until they turn into catastrophic bursts. And all that wasted water can cost cities millions of dollars every year. Echologics has a solution. The Mississauga company [...]
SanEcoTec, an Ottawa-based company, has developed a water treatment system that it believes can meet the myriad challenges facing North America’s water industry, using a substance similar to one found in most medicine cabinets. With support from Southern Ontario Water Consortium’s Advancing Water Technologies (AWT) program, which is funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency [...]
Across the Athabasca oil sands, energy companies are wrestling with a sticky question: what to do with the tailings they produce. The byproduct of mining bitumen, tailings are a mixture of water, fine clay particles and other suspended solids that get pumped into large ponds where they are left to settle — a process that [...]
From tackling green algae blooms in Lake Erie to providing safe water to communities in sub-Saharan Africa, water technology innovators in Southern Ontario are making all kinds of achievements possible. And in many cases, the driving force behind these advances is female. We’d like to introduce you to a few of these wave-making women. [...]
Trojan Technologies is a recognized trailblazer of Ontario’s water tech frontier, known globally for its energy-efficient, advanced ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems. With some 10,000 municipal facilities in more than 100 countries using its applications, Trojan has the largest installed base of municipal UV systems in the world, making it one of the province’s most stunning [...]
Can we create 5 “net zero energy” wastewater facilities in Ontario in the next 5 years? It certainly felt possible on October 30, 2017 when SOWC and OCWA convened a workshop with municipal leaders, water technology companies and academic experts. They came together to talk about how to make such a radical transition in Ontario. [...]
Wastewater treatment facilities protect neighbouring watersheds from harm, but often with a high price in terms of energy usage. "Current wastewater treatment consumes a lot of resources and it is not efficient or sustainable," says McMaster University researcher Younggy Kim. "Many communities spend a substantial amount of energy on the treatment of wastewater. And as [...]
